Kanye’s Faith
2,000 years ago, the Pharisees heaped requirements for salvation on people they could not possibly bear. Now, Kanye West proclaims his faith in Jesus Christ, produces an album called Jesus is King and “sensible” Christians have heaped more and more requirements on Kanye asking him to “prove” his conversion is real. My brothers and sisters, have we become the Pharisees?
I’ll be the first to admit that I was relatively skeptical of the artist’s newfound faith, the Sunday Services, and the announcement of the Christian album. Now, having heard his new album Jesus is King (multiple times), I am shocked at the level of what appears to be intense and authentic truth regarding, not just Kanye’s faith, but the Gospel as a whole. The album is not long, clocking in at 27 minutes, but within that short amount of time, you hear professions of faith, a dedicated life to Christ, and acknowledgement of Kanye’s past and struggles, and a dependence on the one true King. Beyond that, however, when I got to the track “Hands On” it became readily clear the impact that skepticism of someone’s profession of faith might have.
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
– Kanye West, “Hands On,” Jesus is King
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it seem like nobody love me
I’m not tryna lead you to Visas
But if I try to lead you to Jesus
We get called halfway believers
Only halfway read Ephesians
Only if they knew what I knew, uh
I was never new ’til I knew of
True and living God, Yeshua
The true and living God
(Somebody pray for me)
In truth, we did what Kanye feared. We took a profession of faith and immediately sought to doubt the person giving it, bringing up his past sins and then asking he do above and beyond anything we did to prove his conversion, something none of us had to do. Think of the impact this would have on the person looking to come to Christ, even if they don’t get everything perfect. Kanye dedicated his life to Christ and did what he knew to do; he offered up his career to proclaim the glory of God and Jesus as King knowing full well that this could cost him his reputation and livelihood. For all the egocentric struggles Kanye showed in the past, he found the one thing greater than him that will never run out, Jesus Christ. Then, he gave his life to Christ as his Lord and Savior in submissions to the King, willing to lay down everything he had built and amassed during his career. As Christians, we cannot take on the role of the Pharisees by creating barriers to the faith but instead celebrate the redemption of one coming from death to life.
Creating Barriers To The Faith
The Christian response to Kanye’s proclamation fo faith shows a real issue within the walls of Christianity; our faith in God is too small. If our problem is to see a man like Kanye West and immediately run to skepticism as to whether or not God actually has rescued him, then the issue is that we fee some people lay outside of the power of God. When someone becomes “too far gone” for the Gospel to reach them, we profess the limitations of our faith by showing where we feel God cannot reach. We know that God is fully sovereign able to reach any person but wrestle with this fact. Furthermore, when people do come to Christ, we expect them to exist as fully redeemed Christians rather than taking the time to disciple them and care for them in the process. We judge people for coming to the church but not being wholly redeemed when we ourselves are far from redeemed. We judge the sins of others as more severe and egregious than our own. We create barriers to the faith that people must jump through in order to approach God when, in reality, Jesus destroyed the barriers to approach the throne of grace.
Have we become so polished that our family can’t include anybody that has a past? If so, then we have abandoned the Gospel. Or did all of us forget that we all come from a past that is so disgusting and unholy that it would be laughable to think we would do me day stand before God with His arms outstretched in love? We need grace. Maybe it’s time our churches start to take on the appearance of the people Christ surrounded himself with; prostitutes, terrorists, tax collectors, swindlers, drug dealers, the unclean and above all sinners. None of us deserve the grace of God or to stand in His presence. Yet, Jesus Christ died for us in our sins so that we might approach the throne room of God with confidence (cf. Hebrews 4:16). There is no limit to the grace of a sovereign God. No one, regardless of their past, person, race, creed, or background, can overpower God’s sovereign decision to save people.
Welcome To The Family
So how should we respond to someone professing faith in Jesus? Roll out the red carpet. Throw a party. Celebrate. Dance. “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7 ESV) If Heaven rejoices at the profession of faith from One singular person then our response should match the joys of heaven. Put aside the skepticism for the sake of celebration that someone would come to Christ. Do not be the reason that causes someone to doubt their faith through watching the body of Christ express doubt as to the authenticity of their faith. As a member of the body of Christ, we do not judge the hearts of men but allow the gracious hand of God to work through our own.
Thus, when we see someone come to the body of Christ who looks different than what the “normative Christian“ looks like, we should be willing to welcome them with arms open. We cannot expect baby Christians to get everything right just as we cannot expect new born children to hold down jobs and live independently. All of us are at different stages of our walk with Jesus Christ. Progressive sanctification is just that; progressive. One day we will all stand in the glory of God as perfect beings in communion with God forever. For now, we all need the encouragement and love that comes from being a part of the body of Christ, not the immediate skepticism. We all have been forgiven a great deal of sins that left us unrighteous before the Lord. Now, by the power of grace, we receive the same grace as the woman in Luke 7.
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 7:44-48, ESV
At the end of “Hands On” Kanye very clearly asks for someone to pray for him. Whether or not you feel the conversion is authentic or not, that much you can do. Kanye finds himself in a place to make a profound impact for the Kingdom of Heaven. Pray for him.
Welcome to the family Kanye.
